Tonight we celebrated a Sardinian friend's recent PhD defense and
appointment to a faculty position by having her and her family over for
a dinner of lobster paella. I went to Indianapolis to get some supplies
for the dinner and also looked for a suitable wine to accompany the
paella. Apropos of Dale's recent thread, since the paella would be quite
aromatic with fennel, saffron and tarragon, I decided that a light
bodied, crisp white of the not-so-aromatic sort was in order. Ideally,
I wanted to get a Vermentino for her, but none were to be found in my
usual haunts. The Riesling selection boiled down to a '04 Selbach-Oster
Wehlener-Sonnenuhr Kabinett for $25, a decent Albariño for $20 or (my
eventual choice):

2006 Alois Ladeger Pinot Bianco Alto Adige
nose: perfumed, slightly floral with minerals and white stonefruit
palate: crisp acidity, light body, lovely minerality, delicate floral
fruitiness

This wine was lovely and a big hit with all and sundry. It didn't
overwhelm the lobster but wasn't overpowered by the saffron or fennel,
either. Jean gave it her highest accolade: "get more of this!"

We started the meal with olives, cornichons, bread and two cheeses (both
Spanish, one an aged, pressed goat cheese; the other a Basque sheep
cheese). With them, we had a very decent NV Mumm Cuvée Napa Brut that
was crisp, fresh, decently fruited with a fairly refined mousse.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On Aug 11, 11:25�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Tonight we celebrated a Sardinian friend's recent PhD defense and
> appointment to a faculty position by having her and her family over for
> a dinner of lobster paella. *I went to Indianapolis to get some supplies
> for the dinner and also looked for a suitable wine to accompany the
> paella. Apropos of Dale's recent thread, since the paella would be quite
> aromatic with fennel, saffron and tarragon, I decided that a light
> bodied, crisp white of the not-so-aromatic sort was in order. *Ideally,
> I wanted to get a Vermentino for her, but none were to be found in my
> usual haunts. *The Riesling selection boiled down to a '04 Selbach-Oster
> Wehlener-Sonnenuhr Kabinett for $25, a decent Albariño for $20 or (my
> eventual choice):
>
> 2006 Alois Ladeger Pinot Bianco Alto Adige
> nose: perfumed, slightly floral with minerals and white stonefruit
> palate: crisp acidity, light body, lovely minerality, delicate floral
> fruitiness
>
> This wine was lovely and a big hit with all and sundry. *It didn't
> overwhelm the lobster but wasn't overpowered by the saffron or fennel,
> either. *Jean gave it her highest accolade: "get more of this!"
>
> We started the meal with olives, cornichons, bread and two cheeses (both
> Spanish, one an aged, pressed goat cheese; the other a Basque sheep
> cheese). *With them, we had a very decent NV Mumm Cuvée Napa Brut that
> was crisp, fresh, decently fruited with a fairly refined mousse.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

Sounds great. Never had this, but liked the Lageder wines (PG I think)
I've had.